The Axis of Complete and Utter Ignorance(tm): A Member
Profile
By Rachel Marsden
web posted February 17, 2003
While George W. Bush is busy fighting "axis of evil" (tm) in the
war on terrorism, he's also having to contend with the "axis of
complete and utter ignorance" (tm) -charter members of which
are France, Germany, and Belgium. But there's another
candidate that seems to be gunning for this dubious distinction,
and it's none other than the America's largest trading partner and
supposedly closest ally: Canada. We here in Washington, DC,
are busy loading up on bottled water and anti-radiation pills,
duct-taping and Saran Wrapping our homes, and suspiciously
eyeing any brown paper lunch bag left behind by a fellow
commuter on the subway ride. So what's our buddy to the north
-- Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien-doing to help fight
terrorism? He's sitting back and allowing for terrorist groups to
operate freely throughout the country, even when information
obtained by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS)
bears out this charge.
Where even a country like Australia has outlawed immigrants
from 40 recognized terrorist groups, Canada has only taken
similar action against seven of them: The Armed Islamic Group,
The Salafist Group for Call and Combat, Al-Jihad, Vanguards of
Conquest, Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, Al-Ittihad al-Islam, and al-
Qaida. Members of at least 50 recognized terrorist groups are
still operating within Canada's borders.
Last year, Chrétien's Foreign Affairs Minister, Bill Graham,
argued in Canada's House of Commons that not all members of
Hezbollah-a radical Lebanese-based group which is responsible
for hundreds of bombing deaths and acts of terrorism -- can be
banned from entering the country. He argued that the group has
a social wing that does good deeds in raising money for charity!
Yeah, right. And the Hell's Angels are all about toy drives. Some
of the "charitable acts" for which Hezbollah is known include the
1985 hijacking of a US airliner and the murder of a US Navy
sailor aboard the flight; the 1993 bombing of a US Marine
barracks in Beirut; and the 1994 bombing of an Israeli cultural
center in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Back in 1997, Hezbollah
member and Saudi national Hani Abd Rahim al-Sayegh arrived
in Canada and applied for refugee status. He was subsequently
arrested and held as a suspect in a 1996 terrorist bombing that
killed 19 soldiers and wounded 372 others at a US barracks in
Saudi Arabia. The bomb was twice as large as the one that
destroyed the Oklahoma Federal building in 1995. Al-Sayegh
was extradited to the US in 1997, and was subsequently indicted
by a grand jury in Virginia on 46 charges, including 19 counts of
murder.
These terrorists have apparently been using Canada's resources
in the commission of their heinous acts. A newly-obtained CSIS
report found that the Canadian Hezbollah chapter "acquired
diverse material for use in the group's armed struggle in the
Middle East." In March 2001, Ali Adham Amhaz of Burnaby,
BC, was among three people indicted in North Carolina for
allegedly plotting secretly to provide services and items to
Hezbollah operatives in the Middle East for use in violent
attacks. Hey, for all we know, these terrorist groups could be
hiding out in Canada and using the country's resources to build
the mother of all snowblowers for use in an attack on
Washington, DC. Forget about chemical, biological or nuclear
warfare. Those of us who live in the area know that a
snowblower would be the ultimate weapon of mass destruction
to use on the nation's capital. All it usually takes is a decent-sized
snowfall to totally cripple the District and shut everything down.
And what better place to find the materials to build a
snowblower than in Canada's great, white north?
In this climate that promotes tolerance and diversity even at the
expense of national safety and security, Canada's court system
(and, specifically, BC Chief Justice Donald Brenner) was moved
LAST week to send convicted terrorist Inderjit Singh Reyat to a
cushy minimum-security prison -- dubbed "Club Fed" -- just
outside of Vancouver. During his upcoming five-year prison stint
for having built a bomb that killed 329 people on Air India Flight
182 back in 1985, Reyat will be able to enjoy all the fine
amenities that Canada's west coast has to offer-even those that
many lower-income Canadians cannot afford. He will have
access to a tennis court, a pool table, a jogging path, a golf
course, and a private room with a shower. And to top it all off,
Reyat will be eligible for day parole in 10 months, and full parole
by September 2004. Forget about the fact that Reyat was also
convicted in 1991 of manslaughter for building a bomb that blew
up at Tokyo's Narita Airport and killed two baggage handlers.
Since Reyat had already served more than 10 years in
connection with that incident, and given that Canada doesn't
impose consecutive sentencing, Reyat was given credit for time
served.
President George W. Bush is scheduled to go to Canada in May
for an official visit. I would like to suggest an appropriate gift for
Bush to present to the Canadian PM: a copy of "Terrorism for
Dummies". He also may want to tip Chrétien off to the fact that
we're actually at war. The PM recently announced that Canada
will deploy 1,000 troops in Afghanistan-not to root out terrorists,
but instead to participate in a multi-nation peacekeeping force.
Hey Jean, why don't we find the peace first, before we bother
worrying about keeping it? And while Bush is in town, maybe he
can present a few chapters of the "Dummies" manual to some of
the country's high court justices? They also seem to be in need of
a little education in relation to how to handle terrorists who blow
up airplanes and other civilian targets. At least this would be a
start.
Rachel Marsden is a Director of the Free Congress Foundation.
Enter Stage Right -- http://www.enterstageright.com